My space web page - 306 CHAPTER 20 IMAGE EDITING Editing Images
306 CHAPTER 20 IMAGE EDITING Editing Images with The GIMP After you ve started The GIMP (and assigned it a virtual desktop), you can load an image by selecting File . Open. The browser dialog box offers a preview facility on the right of the window. You will probably need to resize the image window so that it fits within the remainder of the screen. You can then use the Zoom tool (see Table 20-1) to ensure that the image fills the editing window, which will make working with it much easier. You can save any changes you make to an image by right-clicking it and selecting File . Save As. You can also print the image from the same menu. Before you begin editing with The GIMP, you need to be aware of some essential concepts that are vital to understand in order to get the most from the program: Copy, cut, and paste buffers: Unlike Windows programs, The GIMP lets you cut or copy many selections from the image and store them for use later. It refers to these saved selections as buffers, and each must be given a name for future reference. A new buffer is created by selecting an area using any of the selection tools, then right-clicking within the selection area and selecting Edit . Buffer . Copy Named (or Cut Named). Pasting a buffer back is a matter of right-clicking the image and selecting Edit . Buffer . Paste Named. Paths: The GIMP paths are not necessarily the same as selection areas, although it s nearly always possible to convert a selection into a path and vice versa (right-click within the selection or path and look for the relevant option on the Edit menu). In general, the tools used to create a path allow the creation of complex shapes rather than simple geometric shapes, as with the selection tools. You can also be more intricate in your selections, as shown in the example in Figure 20-2. You can save paths for later use. To view the Paths dialog box, right-click the image and select Dialogs . Paths. Tip Getting rid of a selection or path you ve drawn is easy. In the case of a path, simply click on any other tool. This will cause the path to disappear. To get rid of a selection, select any selection tool and quickly click once on the image, being careful not to drag the mouse while doing so.